More than a thousand Balinese took part in a mass prayer today as the island was about to reopen to welcome post-Covid-19 visitors.

The prayer took place at the Besakih Hindu temple in Karangasem town to express gratitude for the way the government coped with Covid-19, while seeking blessings for the beginning of the "new normal" state.

Bali has so far recorded 1,849 cases of nCoV and 20 deaths, while Indonesia reported 63,749 cases and 3,171 deaths from Covid-19, the largest epidemic area in Southeast Asia.

Bali will gradually reopen this month to welcome domestic tourists but maintains "strict health protection protocols" to prevent nCoV from spreading, according to local leaders.

Covid-19 has appeared in more than 210 countries and territories, causing nearly 11.4 million infections and more than 530,000 deaths.